US trucking index at 18-month high in August: ATA

US trucking freight volumes rose in August to the highest level since February 2023, the American Trucking Association (ATA) said.

The ATA's seasonally adjusted Truck Tonnage Index (TTI) rose in August by 1.8pc from a month earlier and by 0.7pc from a year earlier.

The index has increased on a monthly and yearly basis only twice in the past 18 months, last doing so in May 2024.

August's "robust gain" indicates freight levels are rebounding from a bottom, according to ATA economist Bob Costello. The TTI's month-to-month movement so far this year also shows the freight market is "at an inflection point," Costello said.

The US trucking industry contracted in 2023 and initially got off to a slow start this year.

Last week, the Federal Reserve cut its target lending rates for the first time in four years, suggesting the worst inflationary pressures may be over.

The TTI is calculated monthly using a survey of ATA membership to estimate seasonally-adjusted trends in the value of US truck freight. Trucking comprises roughly three-quarters of tonnage carried by all modes of transportation in the US, and so can serve as an indicator of the health of the transportation sector and the economy at large.

By Gordon Pollock